Starting 2008 out right

Good morning, everybody, and welcome back to another Cecil’s World in print. We have started a brand new year. It is now 2008, happy New Year!
This year has started off great for me. Can you believe I have now lost 26 pounds and four inches from my waist? I feel better and the New Year is looking good. I received an e-mail relating to “New Year’s” and I wanted to share it with you. It’s a funny piece attributed to Rabbi Jacob Pressman that will start your day off with a smile:
May you get a clean bill of health from your dentist, your cardiologist, your gastro-enterologist, your urologist, your proctologist, your podiatrist, your psychiatrist, your plumber and the IRS.
May your hair, your teeth, your facelift, your abs and your stocks not fall; and may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood cell count and your mortgage interest not rise.
May you find a way to travel from anywhere to anywhere in rush hour in less than an hour, and when you get there may you find a parking space.
May you wake up on Jan. 1, finding that the world has not come to an end, the lights work, the water faucets flow and the sky has not fallen.
May you go to the bank on Monday morning, Jan. 3, and find that your account is in order, your money is still there, and any mistakes are in your favor.
May you ponder on Jan. 4: How did this ultra-modern civilization of ours manage to get itself traumatized by a possible slip of a blip on a chip made out of sand?
May we relax about the Third Millennium of the Common Era, and realize that we still have 240 years until the dawn of the Sixth Millennium of the Jewish Calendar, by which time the computer will be long since obsolete, and so are we.
May God give you the strength to go through a year of presidential campaigning, and may some of the promises made be kept. May you believe at least half of what the candidates propose; may those elected fulfill at least half of what they promise; and may the miracle of reducing taxes and balancing budgets happen.
May you be awestruck by God’s sense of humor as you wrestle with the possibility that a professional wrestler could become president of the United States.
May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them.
May someone love you enough to forgive your faults, be blind to your blemishes and tell the world about your virtues.
May the telemarketers wait to make their sales calls until you finish dinner; may your checkbook and your budget balance; and may they include generous amounts for charity.
May you remember to say “I love you” at least once a day to your spouse, your child, your parent; but not to your secretary, your nurse, your masseuse, your hairdresser or your tennis instructor.
May the Messiah come this year, and if he does not, may we live as if he has, in a world at peace and the awareness of God’s love in every sunset, every flower’s unfolding petals, every baby’s smile, every lover’s kiss and every wonderful, astonishing, miraculous beat of our heart.
Here is another item from Dr. Michael A. Guido’s “Seeds from the Sower” column. This is something we should all try and live by this New Year: “Never part without speaking loving words, they might be your last. Don’t pay any attention to the person who belittles you. He’s trying to cut you down to his size. Conversation is the vent of character, as well as of thought. A person can fake the gifts of the Spirit, but they can’t fake the fruit of the Spirit. The Lord uses those Christians who stay cool in a hot place, sweet in a sour place and straight in a crooked place. The nicest thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time. A kind word picks a person up when troubles weigh him down. You can pray, believe and receive ... or you can pray, doubt and do without.”
That’s it for Cecil’s World in Print. I’ll see you next week, right here in the Morning News and on the tube.

— Cecil Chandler is a veteran reporter at WBTW News13. His column appears Mondays in the Morning News.